The invention relates in general to the field of sporting goods, and in particular, to devices and apparatus for retrieving hockey pucks.
In many sports, players use a large number of balls in practice. In baseball, for example, a batter practicing his hitting on the field may make use of a basketful of practice balls, in order that he does not have to stop between each practice swing to chase down the ball. Tennis and golf are two other examples of sports making use of a number of balls during practice.
Efficient retrieval of the balls for reuse during practice is important in order to minimize the time wasted and maximize the time available for practice. Devices of various construction suitable for retrieving balls used in sports are known to those of skill in the art. One well-known design, for example, is a basket having a heavy gauge wire grid on its base to capture flexible balls such as tennis balls. The spacing of the grid is such that the balls flex and compress between the wire segments and into the basket as the grid is forceably pressed down over the balls.
Other devices employ tubular structures for this application. In these designs, there is a xe2x80x9ckeeperxe2x80x9d of some type at the end of the entry end of the device. In a similar manner to that described above with respect to the wire basket design, the device is employed by pressing the entry end of the device down over the ball to be retrieved. For devices designed to retrieve soft or flexible balls, the keeper structure can be rigid. For devices designed to retrieve hard balls, the keeper is generally flexible.
Examples of devices designed for retrieving hard balls are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D411,278 to Sammons; U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,146 to Liu; U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,769 to Zimmer; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,336 to Parkinson. Examples of devices designed for retrieving soft or flexible balls are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,980 to Ferrari; U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,438 to Logue; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,068 to Nelson. Examples of devices suitable for either type of balls are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,133 to Mote and U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,510 to Duncan.
In general, the above-referenced devices make use of either separate keeper mechanisms or integral keeper features to capture and retain the balls. In certain cases, the keepers are formed as part of the main retrieval structure, for example as detents formed in the sidewall of a straight tube. Other designs make use of flexible retaining tabs disposed around the entry portion of the device.
Although the various retaining structures incorporated into prior designs have been found suitable for capture and retention of hollow spherical shapes, it has been found that the retaining structures traditionally used for the capture and retention of balls are not suitable for the capture and retention of non-spherical objects, particularly those objects having a solid, rather than hollow, construction.
For this reason outlined above, there remains a need for a retrieval device suitable for picking up non-spherical objects. In particular, there is a need for a device suitable for capturing and retaining cylindrical objects.
The device of the present invention incorporates an improved object retention structure to allow the device to capture and retain non-spherical objects, in particular, hockey pucks.
Hockey pucks have a significantly different structure than sports balls. While most sports balls are substantially hollow and are therefore generally lightweight, hockey pucks are solid rubber, and are therefore heavier than most balls. Whereas balls have a curved surface and a varying cross-section facilitating capture by a detent mechanism, hockey pucks are cylindrical and have an essentially constant cross-section along their vertical axis, making capture by a single capture mechanism much more difficult.
While balls stack inefficiently in a tube, with significant air space surrounding them, hockey pucks stack extremely efficiently. As such, a tube full of hockey pucks will be much heavier than a tube full of balls of the same diameter and density, placing greater load on the retention features at the entry. Finally, while many balls have a relatively smooth surface, allowing them to slide past retention structures relatively easily, hockey pucks have a roughened rubber surface, making sliding motion difficult.
In order to address the above difficulties, the present invention makes use of a novel multi-fingered retention structure to enable the capture and retention of hockey pucks and similar structures.
In one embodiment, the present invention is a puck retrieval device comprising a puck receiving tube, a puck retainer attached to one end of the puck receiving tube and having an inside surface, and two or more puck retaining structures disposed on the inside surface of the puck retainer in a substantially regular pattern, such that a puck entering the puck retainer will be securely captured by the retaining structure.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a puck shooting device incorporating a puck shooting mechanism, a puck receiving tube removably attached to the puck shooting mechanism in such a manner to feed the puck shooting mechanism with pucks, a puck retainer attached to one end of the puck receiving tube and having an inside surface, and two or more puck retaining structures disposed on the inside surface of the puck retainer in a substantially regular pattern, such that a puck entering the puck retainer will be securely captured by the retaining structure.